Chez Sophie shutters St. Boniface bistro

Two days after closing its restaurant on theEsplanade Riel, Chez Sophie has shut down its bistro in St. Boniface.

The French-style eatery opened its original location in a small blue building in the heart of Winnipeg's French Quarter, atthe corner of Avenue de la Cathdrale and Langevin Street, in 2005.

It expanded to a second location, on the footbridge, in 2013.

But the owners announced Monday that the bridge location was being closedless than two years into itsfive-year lease with the City of Winnipeg. They, in part, blamedunmanageably-high operating costs associated with that space as a reason for closing.

On Wednesday, they posted the following statementon their Facebook page:

"It is with great regret that we have to announce the closure of Chez Sophie Bistro...
"We are sorry that (we) must make this announcement but we did not, unfortunately, the choice to sell this charming little bistro, who has been very dear to us.
"It was a real pleasure for us to be in the service of our extremely faithfulcustomersduring these nine years, and to provide the Winnipeggers our unique French cuisine.
"We also thank all the people of Winnipeg, our dedicated employees...as well as all our clients for their loyalty sincere."

Sincerely yours.
The owners, Sophie and Stphane of the Bistro ChezSophie

No reason was given as to why the original bistro is being closed or if the cost of operating the bridge location played a part.

CBC News has learned the St. Boniface location will become a French bakery called La belle Baguette, to open in the spring.